Rex Reed, Longtime Film Critic, Dies at 87

Rex Reed, a longtime New York Observer journalist, died Tuesday at his Manhattan home. He was 87. Reed died after a brief illness, publicist Sean Katz told The Associated Press on behalf of the writer’s friend, William Kapfer. His exact cause of death was not given.

Born Rex Taylor Reed on Oct. 2, 1938, in Fort Worth, Texas, he earned a college degree from Louisiana State University in 1960. Reed wrote for Vogue, GQ, The New York Times, The Daily News and the New York Post before joining the Observer in 1987. He remained with the publication for decades.

Reed said in a 2018 New York Times interview that he liked as many films as he disliked. He added that he believed the industry was drowning in mediocrity and that he tried to raise the level of consciousness about better work.

Reed gained attention for his direct reviews of major films. Forbes reported that these included Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter, Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. Director Darren Aronofsky said he viewed one of Reed’s negative reviews of his film Mother!

as a point of pride. Reed was also critical of some actors. Deaf actress Marlee Matlin said that a day after she won the Oscar for Children of a Lesser God, Reed stated that the award was a pity vote because she was a deaf person playing a deaf role.

““I like just as many films as I dislike. But I think we’re drowning in mediocrity. I just try as hard as I can to raise the level of consciousness. Curotto said the Rex Reed he knew bore little resemblance to the curmudgeon of popular imagination and that he was much more besides. In addition to his journalism, Reed authored eight books. He appeared as himself in the 1978 film Superman starring Christopher Reeve. Reed voiced himself in two episodes of the ABC animated series The Critic in 1994 and 1995. He made more than two dozen appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and served as a panelist on the game show The Gong Show from 1976 to 1980. Reed’s career included guest appearances on talk shows hosted by Joan Rivers, Phil Donahue and Merv Griffin.”